The board of the Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF) has elected Geoff Little as the charity’s new honorary treasurer.

Unfortunately, Mr Little’s appointment became necessary after the untimely passing of Bob Young, who the board said had been “a most effective treasurer” for the VBF over the past five years, and who is “sorely missed“.

Mr Little qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 1973. After a short spell in small animal practice and five years in mixed practice in Somerset, he moved to Stockport in 1979 to take up a partnership in Woodcroft Veterinary Group.

He retired from the practice in 2002 to pursue other interests within the profession and is currently the communications training associate for the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS) and a consultant with Anval Ltd. He is a former SPVS president and a former director of Centaur Services Ltd.

He said: “I will do my very best to fill the very large gap left by Bob’s untimely passing”.